Superior Drummer 3

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF DRUM PRODUCTION.

Building on the legacy of its predecessor, Superior Drummer 3 was redesigned from the ground up to introduce a completely new and improved workflow, countless added features and an unequalled amount of raw sound material. With Superior Drummer 3, you are in total control. Welcome to the future of drum production.

>230 GB

Raw unprocessed samples

Seven (7) kits 25 snares, 16 kicks

Engineered by
George Massenburg

11.1

Ready for immersive sound playback

350

Approx. 350 electronic drum machine sounds

Mix-ready presets for different styles

Offline audio to MIDI conversion

35 sound processing effects

Import your own samples

Superior Drummer 3 introduction video.

FEATURES – AT A GLANCE.

In excess of 230 GB of raw, unprocessed sounds in 44.1 kHz/24 bit
Recorded with an additional eleven separate room microphones set up in a surround configuration for a complete immersive experience
Playback in stereo or up to 11 channel surround systems
Approx. 350 vintage and classic drum machine sounds
New and improved scalable interface with detachable windows
Edit Play Style, Tap2Find, Song Creator and Song Track features as well as improved workflow and search functionality
Built-in MIDI grid editor
DAW automation for built-in macro controls
Support for keyboard shortcuts

AUDIO DEMOS.

These playlists include a selection of full production and preset demos featuring different kits from the Superior Drummer 3 core library. Please find more drum demos in the “Drums” section and preset demos in the “Mixer” section.

FULL PRODUCTION:

METAL & HEAVY.

FULL PRODUCTION:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

FULL PRODUCTION:

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

METAL & HEAVY.

DRUMS ONLY:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

DRUMS ONLY:

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

DRUMS ONLY:

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

DRUMS ONLY:

ARTICULATIONS.

DRUMS.

GROOVES.

MIXER.

TRACKER.

SOUND DESIGN.

THE STUDIO.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

E-DRUMS.

SOUND DESIGN.

DRUMS.

GROOVES.

MIXER.

TRACKER.

THE STUDIO.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

E-DRUMS.

SOUND DESIGN.

A CREATIVE PLAYGROUND WHERE NO RULES APPLY.

The idea with Superior Drummer 3 is to let you step into a virtual studio with the best possible raw material and mix options at your disposal to create drum sounds in an environment where only your imagination sets the limits. Combining the creative power of the sounds, the ambiences and the extensive set of features, Superior Drummer 3 is more than just a drum sampler – it’s a bottomless well of creativity. It bridges the gap between acoustic and electronic and lets you venture off into completely new sonic landscapes. This is the definitive tool for percussive sound design.

ACOUSTIC

From tight to ambient – mix timeless acoustic drums for any genre.

ELECTRONIC

Create hybrid kits – only your imagination sets the limits.

MODERN

More than 350 drum machine sounds for augmenting or sound design purposes.

Learn more about sound design

DRUMS.

IMMENSE AND IMMERSIVE, CAPTURED WITH
LAYERS OF TECHNOLOGY.

The Superior Drummer 3 core sound library was recorded by award-winning engineer George Massenburg at probably the world’s most quiet and ideal location for sampling, the Galaxy Studios in Belgium. The library boasts in excess of 230 GB of raw sound material captured in extreme detail. In additional to close microphones and several ambience positions, the Superior Drummer 3 setup also includes an additional eleven room microphones set up in a surround configuration, for use in anything from stereo to 5.1, 9.1 and all the way up to 11.1 systems. In combination with the large selection of extra instruments added for stacking and sound design purposes, the sounds of Superior Drummer 3 give you an incomparable palette of options to craft drum tones beyond your wildest imagination.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

Seven (7) kits (Ayotte, Gretsch, Pearl, Premier, Yamaha and two configurations of Ludwig)
Tom shell dimensions cover ranges from 6” to 20”
Optional tool selection available on select kits and instruments (sticks, brushes, rods, felt mallets)
Optional drum head selection available on select kits and instruments
Approx. 350 electronic drum sounds, sampled from vintage and classic drum machines
25 unique acoustic snares, 35 recorded configurations
16 unique acoustic kicks, 27 different recorded configurations

Drag & drop/import third party sounds

11.1

Ready for immersive sound playback

Approx. 350 vintage and classic drum machine sounds

Advanced e-drum support

Advanced instrument and MIDI search

Custom graphics for all included drums

THE MAKING OF
THE CORE SOUND LIBRARY.

Meet the team and get a glimpse of what happened behind the scenes during the recording sessions.

Learn more about the drums.

THE STUDIO.

AUDIO PERFECTION IN
UTTER SILENCE.

The Superior Drummer 3 core sound library was recorded at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. With its 330 square meter room and eight meter ceiling height, it was the ideal location for capturing immersive audio of the utmost quality. In addition, the entire studio complex is built on springs to ensure that the outside interference is literally nonexistent. In fact, with only 14 dBA of environmental noise, the main hall at Galaxy Studio is the most quiet recording space of this size in the world.

Perfect acoustics, balanced reverberation and second-to-none recording technology. Superior Drummer 3 called for a superior studio. We’d dare to say that this is the most nuanced and candidly captured sample library on the market.

Let Tom Van Achte take you on a tour through the Galaxy complex.

Toontrack’s Mattias Eklund and engineer George Massenburg hard at work in the “API Room”.

Layers of technology. George and team are carefully placing each microphone to capture the immense ambience of the 330 square meter Galaxy room.

Each room is a standalone bunker, mounted on helical springs. The insolation between each bunker is a staggering 100.7 dB.

When sampling drums in surround and height, you need – height. The Galaxy hall with its eight meters from floor to ceiling was the perfect choice.

The studio took seven years to complete and a total of 318,000 man hours were spent to achieve the full construction of the facility.

In this video, George takes you through his Superior Drummer 3 microphone positioning philosophy.

MICROPHONE & INPUT LIST.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

MICROPHONE & SIGNAL CHAIN.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

All third party brands, trademarks or registered trademarks are the sole properties of their respective owners.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER,
PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

George Massenburg’s contribution to the world of audio technology is hard to emphasize in words. Aside from having produced, mixed or engineered in excess of four hundred records, received almost any industry award thinkable, been inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame and received an honorary Doctorate of Music at the esteemed Berklee College, he is the inventor of an industry staple: the parametric equalizer. His attention to detail, accuracy and quality is second to none.

Superior Drummer 3 called for a superior engineer. These are his drum sounds – captured with layers of technology and a lifetime of experience to back it up.

Over the past four decades, George Massenburg has been involved in over four hundred records. His work includes milestone albums by Earth, Wind & Fire, Linda Ronstadt, Natasha Bedingfield, Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, the Dixie Chicks and many, many more. George’s work has gained him world wide recognition and four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy for Technical Achievement in 1998, at the time making him one of only seventeen individuals to ever receive this honor. In addition to numerous Mix Magazine TEC Awards, in 1988 he also won the Academy of Country Music Record of the Year Award for his production on the album “Trio” featuring Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Further, George has designed, built and managed several recording studios as well as contributed to the acoustical and architectural design of many other studios, including George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound. In 1982, he founded George Massenburg Labs, an audio electronics company that has released an extensive range of innovative recording technologies, all based on his original designs.

Regularly published in professional journals and trade magazines world wide, George Massenburg received the Gold Medal from the Audio Engineering Society in 2008.

In 2013, he was awarded a patent #8,510,361 in the US (as well as other countries) for a variable exponent averaging detector and dynamic range controller. He is also a member of the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress and an advisor to the Committee for Library Information Resources. George serves as the Chief Technical Officer of META (the Music Engineering Technical Alliance), a strategic union of music producers and engineers dedicated to the highest standards of audio and delivery of music.

George has also been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Sound Recording at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and a Visiting Lecturer at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston and Valencia, Spain as well as the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

Inventing the Parametric equalizer (1972)

Engineering ”Night Passage” by Weather Report (1980)

Receiving a “Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical” Grammy Award for “Cry Like a Rainstorm – Howl Like the Wind” by Linda Ronstadt (1989)

If we may say so, engineering the Superior Drummer 3 core sound library.

GROOVES.

SONG TRACKS.

BUILD FULL DRUM TRACKS RIGHT INSIDE THE PROGRAM

CUSTOMIZE.

MIX, MATCH, CHANGE & REARRANGE

THE HEARTBEAT OF YOUR SONG.

Superior Drummer implements several groundbreaking features for working with any aspect of your drum MIDI content – right inside the program. The idea is that regardless of what you are attempting to accomplish, you should never have to leave the framework of Superior Drummer 3. From quickly getting a custom beat going to laying out entire songs or diving deep into fine-tuning timing and velocity detail, Superior Drummer 3 has got you covered.

Add to this the comprehensive Superior Drummer 3 MIDI library, covering a wide range of styles, and you have a wealth of inspiration to use to craft your custom drum tracks from.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

Multiple song tracks
Build full drum arrangements
Grid editor
Time and tempo editor integrated in Song Track
Edit Play Style, Tap2Find, Song Creator and Song Track with improved workflow and search functionality added
Integrated grooves and search browser
Text search

Grid editor

Multiple song tracks

Tap2Find

Edit playstyle

Song creator

Search & browse MIDI

Time & tempo editor

Full arrangements

Improved workflow

Learn more about the grooves.

MIXER.

CONTROL AND POWER, BEYOND THE THINKABLE.

The mixer introduces 35 low-footprint insert effects, making each channel strip a virtual sound processing powerhouse. Route, bus, send, saturate, blend and mix – the creative options are endless.

Think of Superior Drummer 3 like stepping into the control of a world-class studio and taking a seat at the mixing console. Outside the glass windows, in the massive hall, there’s a wide array of drums of all sizes, makes and models, all set up and ready for you to hone to fit your mixes.

With Superior Drummer 3, you are in control. Only your imagination sets the limits.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

35 mixer effects (EQ, delay, reverb, filters, dynamics, distortion, modulation)
A wide array of presets for all included kits
Individual mic bleed and mic control
Bus, route, send

35 sound processing effects

Individual microphone bleed control

Presets for included kits and effects

Bus, route, send

Learn more about the mixer.

TRACKER.

AUGMENT.

FROM ACOUSTIC PERFECTION TO ELABORATE SOUND DESIGN

REPLACE.

ROUTE, BUS, SEND, SATURATE, BLEND AND MIX

SPEED.

OFFLINE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FASTEST TRACKING

A NEW BREED OF AUDIO
TO MIDI CONVERSION.

The Tracker introduces the arguably most efficient and accurate drum audio to MIDI conversion software on the market. Built on a highly advanced instrument recognition neural network, the Tracker detects hits with an unequalled accuracy and speed.

With the seamless integration with Superior Drummer 3, replacing or augmenting drums has never been more powerful than now. Simply drop your drum audio material in Tracker, let it quickly analyze your content and in no time, you’ll be able to preview the MIDI based on your original tracks. Start blending, augmenting, replacing and creating!

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

Drum recognition based on artificial intelligence (AI)
Machine learning based on over 1.4 million drum audio files
Offline audio to MIDI conversion
Track complex drum patterns faster than ever before
Unlimited control with Find Similar, Sound Recognition Threshold and other specially designed features
Create tempo maps from audio with the Find Tempo feature
Reduce bleed between different microphones to avoid false triggers
Edit MIDI notes individually directly in the waveform
Seamless integration with Superior Drummer 3
Endless possibilities to replace or augment any drum performance
Get experimental – import any audio file to generate original percussive rhythms

Offline audio to MIDI

Instrument recognition AI

Seamless S3 integration

Export MIDI tempo & time map

Export single instrument MIDI

Drag & drop MIDI

Learn more about Tracker.

E-DRUMS.

MAKE YOUR ELECTRONIC KIT SOUND LIKE YOU.

By combining smart software features with extreme sample detail and nuance, Superior Drummer 3 bridges the gap between the “e” and the drums, making your electronic kit every bit as “real” and acoustic as it can be.

Superior Drummer 3 was designed with you in mind, the demanding e-drummer. Get started playing instantly with one of the the new e-drum presets, or customize the way the software responds to your playing with new, easy-to-use controls on the dedicated e-drums settings tab.

The e-drum settings tab is used to transform incoming MIDI to the standard of any loaded sound library without affecting the playback of your MIDI files. This makes it easy to combine your own playing with any MIDI files available from Toontrack. It also offers quick access to the MIDI controls most frequently used, like hi-hat pedal and snare CC response. Controls and articulations for the mapping of custom kits and pads with multiple zones and positional sensitivity are available as well.

All this in combination with optimized velocity response, humanization and up to 25 velocity layers per instrument in the Superior Drummer 3 core library will make your playing more expressive and well-rounded than ever!

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

New e-drum settings page allows transforming incoming MIDI without affecting the playback of your MIDI files.
Get started playing instantly with new e-drum presets for a variety of e-drum brands
Easy setup for positional sensing pads and multiple articulations
No need for a DAW – capture your performance directly in the Song Track of Superior Drummer 3
Superb realism, new articulations and manageable library size with up to 25 velocity layers per instrument
Quick access to controls for snare and hi-hat CC
Optimized response and humanization

PRODUCT CONFIGURATIONS.

New to the world of Superior Drummer or already in the family?
Find your path below.
Please log in to your account to add the Upgrade or Crossgrade option to your cart.

REGULAR VERSION.

For all new customers that do not own Superior Drummer 2 or EZdrummer 2.

UPGRADE.

For owners of any version of
Superior Drummer 2.

CROSSGRADE.

For owners of any version of
EZdrummer 2.

LEGACY VERSION
DISCONTINUED.

Now that Superior Drummer 3 is released, the legacy version is discontinued and removed from the Toontrack Superior Line. It will however still work and be supported throughout the transition.

Content from the S2.0 Producer Presets Line can be opened in Superior Drummer 3 but is discontinued and no longer supported.

WHY UPGRADE OR
CROSSGRADE?

Save big compared to first-time buyers
Your already installed Toontrack sound libraries (SDX/EZX) will still work in Superior Drummer 3. This includes the EZdrummer 2 and Superior Drummer 2 core libraries as well!
All your already installed Toontrack MIDI will still work
Your already installed SDXs will be updated with new custom graphics and presets
Presets created in Superior 2 will be translated to work in Superior Drummer 3. Pick up where you left off and put your 35 new mixer effects to use!
Installing Superior Drummer 3 does not overwrite an existing Superior Drummer 2 installation

WHY UPGRADE?

WHY CROSSGRADE?

DOWNLOAD CONFIGURATION.

Due to the size of the library and to ensure that each customer freely can decide in what capacity he or she wants to utilize the source material, the product is configured in six (6) convenient download packages. Start by installing the software and then add each package in sequence as you go.

Software
The Superior Drummer 3 software. No sounds.

Approx. download size: 230 MB.

Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 need to be installed in sequence. However, as soon as you have installed part 1, you can jump straight to installing the Additional Bleed part.

Basic Sound Library
All instruments, all tools and all articulations in direct microphones as well as the OH Dyn and Amb Ribbon channels. Bleed available in Snare Bottom, OH Dyn and Amb Ribbon channels.

Approx. download size: 40 GB.

Room mics
The rest of the room microphone channels (OH Cond, Amb Near and Amb Mid).

Approx. download size: 46 GB.

Surround Setup
Surround. Five channel microphone setup to achieve 5-channel surround.

Approx. download size: 43 GB.

Height Surround
Height and width. Six channel microphone setup to achieve 11-channel surround (in combination with the “Surround 1” content).

Approx. download size: 52 GB.

Additional Bleed
All remaining instrument bleed, meaning the sound picked up by microphones other than the one(s) directly intended for a specific instrument or ambience.

Approx. download size: 54 GB.

Note: All surround channels can be used in any stereo system as additional ambience microphones.

CORE SOUND LIBRARY HARD DRIVE (OPTIONAL)

The full core sound library pre-installed on a 256 GB solid-state drive (SSD). This is a quality drive with no moving mechanical components, meaning it’s more resistent to physical shock, has lower access time and less latency than a traditional hard drive. This drive connects with USB 3.0.

Note: There is no software on this drive, only sounds.
A Superior Drummer 3 license is required.

COMPARE SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3
TO SUPERIOR DRUMMER 2.

SUPERIOR DRUMMER	3	2
Core library size	approx. 235 GB	approx. 19 GB
Drum set brands	6	1
Kit configurations	14	6
Ready for surround playback
Audio to MIDI conversion (Tracker)
Kicks	16	2
Snares	25	7
Cymbals	32	32
Electronic sounds	(approx. 350)
Mixer effects	35	5
Instrument bleed
Internal mixer busses	16	16
Internal stereo outputs	16	16
New & advanced algorithm for realistic tuning of drum heads and cymbals
Reverse sample playback
Pitch envelope control
Audio bounce in 16 and 24 bit
Percussion sounds
Percussion MIDI grooves
Future hit MIDI grooves
Import your own samples
MIDI grid editor
Quantize MIDI grooves
Edit Play Style
Tap2Find
Song Creator
Song Track
Tempo & time signature change on Song Track
Multiple song track versions
Scalable interface
Detachable windows/tabs
Macro controls
MIDI learn
Support for keyboard shortcuts
Core MIDI library size	approx. 1,640 files	approx. 1,513 files
MIDI categorized in song parts
Instrument search browser with filters
MIDI search browser with filters
Custom graphics for all drums
Show webshop MIDI
Customizable mixer layout
Combine drums from all installed Toontrack sound libraries (SDX & EZX)
Improved workflow for easily creating drum stacks
Advanced e-drum features
MIDI out
Simplified microphone routing

HEAVY READING.

Want to learn the ins and outs of Superior Drummer 3? Check out this interactive user manual.

USER MANUAL

Superior Drummer 3 SSD Disk

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF DRUM PRODUCTION.

FEATURES – AT A GLANCE.

AUDIO DEMOS.

FULL PRODUCTION:

METAL & HEAVY.

METAL & HEAVY.

FULL PRODUCTION:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

FULL PRODUCTION:

MODERN.

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

METAL & HEAVY.

METAL & HEAVY.

DRUMS ONLY:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

DRUMS ONLY:

MODERN.

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

DRUMS ONLY:

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

DRUMS ONLY:

ARTICULATIONS.

ARTICULATIONS.

DRUMS.

GROOVES.

MIXER.

TRACKER.

SOUND DESIGN.

THE STUDIO.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

E-DRUMS.

SOUND DESIGN.

DRUMS.

GROOVES.

MIXER.

TRACKER.

THE STUDIO.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

E-DRUMS.

SOUND DESIGN.

SOUND DESIGN.

A CREATIVE PLAYGROUND WHERE NO RULES APPLY.

ACOUSTIC

ELECTRONIC

MODERN

DRUMS.

DRUMS.

IMMENSE AND IMMERSIVE, CAPTURED WITH LAYERS OF TECHNOLOGY.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

THE MAKING OF THE CORE SOUND LIBRARY.

THE STUDIO.

THE STUDIO.

AUDIO PERFECTION IN UTTER SILENCE.

MICROPHONE & INPUT LIST.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

MICROPHONE & SIGNAL CHAIN.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER, PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

GROOVES.

GROOVES.

SONG TRACKS.

BUILD FULL DRUM TRACKS RIGHT INSIDE THE PROGRAM

CUSTOMIZE.

MIX, MATCH, CHANGE & REARRANGE

THE HEARTBEAT OF YOUR SONG.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

MIXER.

MIXER.

CONTROL AND POWER, BEYOND THE THINKABLE.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

IMMENSE AND IMMERSIVE, CAPTURED WITH
LAYERS OF TECHNOLOGY.

THE MAKING OF
THE CORE SOUND LIBRARY.

AUDIO PERFECTION IN
UTTER SILENCE.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER,
PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

A NEW BREED OF AUDIO
TO MIDI CONVERSION.

LEGACY VERSION
DISCONTINUED.

WHY UPGRADE OR
CROSSGRADE?

COMPARE SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3
TO SUPERIOR DRUMMER 2.